APHIS Factsheet

Veterinary Services December 2012

Animal Disease 

Traceability: A Guide 

to Identifying Swine 

for Interstate 

Movement

Q. Are swine required to be officially identified as 

part of the new traceability rule?

A. The traceability rule does not change the current 

requirements for the identification and movement of 

swine interstate. Swine that are moved interstate must 

currently meet identification requirements (Title 9, Part 

71.19 of the Code of Federal Regulations). The official 

identification requirements in the existing regulations 

are being maintained. 

Q. When are swine required to be identified during 

interstate movement? 

A. There are no new requirements. Existing 

regulations require that, with certain exceptions, swine 

must be identified at whichever of the following comes 

first:

•	 The point of first commingling in interstate

 commerce with swine from any other source;

•	 Upon unloading in interstate commerce at any

 livestock market;

•	 Upon transfer of ownership in interstate commerce;

 or

•	 Upon arrival in interstate commerce at their final

 destination.

Q. What forms of identification may be used for 

swine moving interstate?

A. The rule does not include any additional methods 

of swine identification or modify any of the existing 

methods.

Current regulations provide for flexibility in the way that 

swine can be identified. Any form of swine identification approved by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) Administrator may be used for 

interstate movement. Swine identification methods 

approved by APHIS’ Administrator include:

•	 Official eartags for any swine;

•	 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) backtags

 for swine moving to slaughter;

•	 Official swine tattoos for swine moving to slaughter,

 when their use has been requested by a user or 

 State animal health official;

•	 Tattoos of at least 4 characters for swine moving to

 slaughter, except sows and boars;

•	 Ear notching of any swine, if the ear notching has

 been recorded in a purebred registry association’s 

 book of record;

•	 Tattoos on the ear or inner flank of any swine, if the

 tattoos have been recorded in a swine registry 

 association’s book of record;

•	 An eartag or tattoo for slaughter and feeder swine

 that bears the premises identification number 

 assigned by the State animal health official to the

 premises on which the swine originated; and

•	 Any other official identification device or method

 that APHIS’ Administrator approves. 

Q. When can I use group identification for swine 

moving interstate?

A. Existing regulations specify that group identification 

can be used for interstate movement of swine if:

•	 They were born on the same premises; they were

 raised on the same premises where they were 

 born; they are moved in a group directly to a 

 slaughtering establishment from the place where 

 they were raised; 

•	 They are not mixed with swine from any other

 premises between the time they are born and the

 time they arrive at the slaughtering establishment,

 and

•	 They are slaughtered one after another as a

 group and not mixed with other swine at slaughter;

 or approved identification is applied to the swine 

 after entry into the slaughtering establishment.

In addition, swine may move as groups within a 

production system where the movements between 

locations are routine and part of a valid swine 

production health plan, in which both the sending and 

receiving States have agreed to allow the movement.

The proposed rule does not change any of these 

provisions.

Q. What kinds of records must I create and 

maintain for interstate movement of swine?

A. No new records need to be created or maintained 

as a result of the rule. Current regulations require that 

persons assigned serial numbers of USDA backtags,
official swine tattoos, and official eartags must record:

•	 All serial numbers applied to the swine;

•	 Any other serial numbers and approved

 identification appearing on the swine that are 

 needed to identify the swine to its previous owner 

 and location;

•	 The street address (including the city and State, or

 the township, county, and State) of the premises 

 where the approved means of identification were 

 applied; and

•	 The telephone number, if available, of the person

 who owns or possesses the swine.

For general interstate movement, records must be 

maintained for at least 2 years after the person has 

sold or disposed of the swine and must be made 

available for inspection and copying during ordinary 

business hours upon USDA request.

In addition, traceability records must be maintained 

at premises involved in a swine production system in 

which swine move interstate without individual identification. These records must be maintained for 3 

years from the time the records were created. Each 

premises must (1) maintain records that will allow an 

APHIS representative or State animal health official to 

trace any animal on the premises back to its previous 

premises and (2) maintain copies of all swine production health plans signed by the producer, all interstate 

swine movement reports issued by the producer, and 

all reports issued by the swine production system’s 

accredited veterinarian(s) that document the health 

status of the swine on the premises.

Q. May I remove official identification devices from 

my swine?

A. Official identification devices are intended to provide permanent identification of livestock and to ensure 

the ability to find the source of animal disease outbreaks. Removal of these devices, including devices 

applied to imported animals in their countries of origin 

and recognized by APHIS’ Administrator as official, is 

prohibited except at the time of slaughter, at any other 

location upon the death of the animal, or as otherwise 

approved by the State or Tribal animal health official or 

an area veterinarian in charge when a device needs to 

be replaced. 

If an animal loses an official identification device and 

needs a new one, the person applying the new official 

identification device must record the following information about the event and maintain the record for 5 

years: the date the new official identification device is 

applied; the official identification number on the device; 

and the official identification number on the old device 

if known. 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture

Eartags may be replaced for reasons other than loss 

when a State or Tribal animal health official or an area 

veterinarian in charge authorizes it for reasons that 

include, but are not limited to:

•	 Deterioration of the device such that loss of the

 device appears likely or the number can no longer

 be read; 

•	 Infection at the site where the device is attached,

 necessitating application of a device at another 

 location (e.g., a slightly different location of an 

 eartag); 

•	 Malfunction of the electronic component of a radio

 frequency identification (RFID) device; or

•	 Incompatibility or inoperability of an RFID device’s

 electronic component with the management 

 system or unacceptable functionality of the 

 management system due to the use of an RFID 

 device.

Any time an official identification device is replaced, as 

authorized by the State or Tribal animal health official 

or area veterinarian in charge, the person replacing the 

device must record the following information about the 

event and maintain the record for 5 years:

•	 The date on which the device was removed;

•	 Contact information for the location where the

 device was removed;

•	 The official identification number (to the extent

 possible) on the device removed;

•	 The type of device removed (e.g., metal eartag,

 RFID eartag);

•	 The reason for the removal of the device;

•	 The new official identification number on the

 replacement device; and

•	 The type of replacement device applied.

Q. Where can I find more information on swine 

identification requirements for interstate movement?

A. More information is available at http://www.aphis.

usda.gov/traceability/ or from your State animal health

official’s office.